By last year around this time I had hosted a few shows and did a little stand up around campus but I hadn't ventured off into the unknown. I had alway done shows on campus for people who knew me and I felt gave me the benefit of the doubt and didnt boo my ass right away. So I had some local success but never tried my act else where and I didnt know how to take it on the road. Then one night I got a call from my father telling me that comedian Sonya D was hosting a show in Bloomington, IL, 30 minutes from Champaign. So while talking to him I remembered that my mother has a friend who is Sonya D's cousin. Now honestly Im just talking and say to my father Ill look into, not expecting to really get into the show. So I call my mother and tell her about it and she tells me she'll see if she can get into contact with her. A few days go by and the thought of being in the show or even going to see the show is completely out of my mind, then I get an email that says: "Calvin just be at the Hotel by 7:30 and I will give you 10-15 min slot..Forward the bottom portion to alllll your friends and let them know you are opening for Pierre! SD " I read this and I go nuts, Im going to be opening up for Sonya D and Pierre (the light skinned dude from How to be a Player). Now when it comes to writing and rehearsing jokes Im terrible at it, I hate it because in my mind I like to believe Im like Jay Z when it comes to telling jokes, I just come straight from the dome with the jokes, but my girlfriend kept telling me to practice, practice, practice, so I decided to sit down and put my thoughts on paper. Then I tried a few on her and she wasnt taking to the jokes, so I went back and did some editing and changed a few things and she liked it. So I go pick up my right hand men Ray Bennett and Andes Lopez and we head to Bloomington. We get there and hour before showtime and Im nervous as shit, and I go to shake Sonya D's hands and she says "Alright now, yo ass better be funny" and all I could do was smile and nod my head. The show starts and Sonya D is the host, and let me say publicly she is the funniest female comedian I have ever seen in my life and I love her to death. She is killing the crowd with just unscripted unrehearsed jokes on the fly, and I could see she was born to do this. Now this is where the title comes into to play, the video of this show I did not have until I found it in my mothers camera a few months ago, and this will be the first time I showed it to anyone. After the show Sonya D told me that I had what it takes to be successful in comedy and that I should be established in a years time. Take a look at the 6 minute set that won over Sonya D and a room full of Bloomington residents.
Me and Sonya D
Me and Pierre
